'It was like a stone in the face': raped teenager speaks to the BBC about judge's decision that spared attackers from prison

A girl raped by two teenagers told the BBC that a judge's decision not to arrest them was like a "stone in the face."
In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, she said: "What was the point of putting me through all that?"
Speaking anonymously alongside her family, the teenager said the judge's decision "almost gave the impression that what the boys did was not right, but it was acceptable in the eyes of the law because they were still children".
The Attorney General will review the sentence handed down by Judge Nicholas Rowland, who said on Thursday he wanted to avoid the "criminalisation" of the boys, describing them as "very young".
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Warning: This article contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
The victim was 15 years old when she was raped in an underpass on the banks of the River Avon, in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in the United Kingdom.
She had traveled to find one of the boys for the first time in November 2024, after he began a "relationship" with her over Snapchat.
The two defendants, who are now 15, were also convicted of attacking a second victim, raped in a field in January 2025.
An interview with the teenager aired on the BBC's 'Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg'
via BBC
A third boy, now 14, was also convicted of involvement in the second attack.
The attackers filmed the rapes on their cell phones and later shared part of the footage online.
At the sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, the judge highlighted the "seriousness" of the crimes and said the footage made the cases even "more serious". She then praised the boys for their behavior during the trial.
The young woman and her family want the sentences to be changed and the boys to be imprisoned, stating that the sentences amounted to a "pat on the wrist".
"Why did I go there and subject myself to the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything, watching it all happen again?", she said. "In a way, it made me feel like: what's the point... what was the point of putting me through this just to say it's okay."
The young woman said it took her six months to talk about the attack. "The reason I spoke up was because I was losing myself. I was spiraling. I needed help, but I didn't know how to get it, so I decided to speak up," he said. Since then, she said, "all I can think about is being sad, angry, stressed, tired - school, needing a job, trying to get my life in order while I feel like it's falling apart." their families - for them, but also for all the other girls who find themselves in this situation."
The victim's mother said her world "stopped" when she heard about the attack. "Everything stopped moving," he reported. She then appealed directly to the Prime Minister: "Please help.
If it was your daughter, your niece, your son, your nephew, someone in your family - would you be satisfied? Because we are not, and I don't think any other citizen would be. You have the power to help, so please help."
Her partner, who was present in court at the time of the sentencing, said he felt "physically sick" upon hearing the judge's decision. "It appears the victims are the ones who continue to suffer, while the attackers apparently got away with it."
One of the girls was attacked in an underpass beside the River Avon.
CPS via BBC
At sentencing, one of the 15-year-old boys was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance, for each of the victims' rape charges and for two indecent images charges.
The other 15-year-old boy received the same sentence for three counts of rape against each of the victims and four counts of making indecent images. The 14-year-old boy was given an 18-month rehabilitation order for encouraging one of the other defendants in the January 2025 attack.
Reform UK MP - the right-wing party led by Nigel Farage - Robert Jenrick said justice had not been done. "disgusted" by the case: "The crime could hardly have been more serious, and the punishment was no punishment at all."
The Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said she was "deeply concerned" and that her office would contact the families to offer support. "I don't want any young woman in this country to feel that something like this could happen and go unanswered," he said.
A government spokesperson said: "We share the public outrage at the details of this horrific case. Our thoughts are with the young victims at this very difficult time. Legal officials are reviewing the case with urgency and the utmost attention."

Source: G1